Chair structure



W. E. NORDMARK CHAIR STRUCTURE Nov. 10, 1953 Filed Nov. 5. 1951 INVENTOR Ifali-er E. Mtdmarli ATTORNEY patented Nov. 10,

CHAIR STRUCTURE Walter E. Nordmark, Grand Rapids, Mich., as-

signor to American Seating Company, Grand Rapids, Mich., a corporation of New Jersey Application November 5, 1951, Serial No. 254,929

3 Claims. 1

The present invention relates to chair structure and more particularly to chair seats. The invention is in the nature of a modification of that shown and described in my co -pending application, Serial No. 196,972, filed November 22, 1950.

The primary objects of the invention are to provide a non-cushioned chair seat having a compound curvature especially contoured to provide a maximum of comfort for the chair occupant, thus providing a seat which although noncushioned and therefore hard is nevertheless comfortable; to provide such a seat the forward portion of which is bowed upwardly from the front toward the rear and the rearward portion of which is bowed downwardly from the sides toward the middle; to provide a chair structure in which the seat is thus contoured in a novel, attractive, and economical manner.

These and other objects of the invention hereinafter appearing are attained by the illustrative embodiment shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a front and side perspective view of a chair structure having the new seat;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of a sheet of material from which the chair seat is formed;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the chair prior to final assembly of the seat thereto;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary rear elevational view of the chair after final assembly of the seat thereto; and

Figure 5 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the completed chair.

Referring now in detail to this drawing wherein like parts are designated by the same numerals in the several views, the chair there shown comprises a seat It and back ll, of plywood or the like, mounted upon a supporting structure consisting of an inverted U-shaped tubular metal front frame I2, a similar inverted U-shaped tubular metal rear frame l3, and a third tubular metal frame i4 having an upstanding inverted U-shaped back support It and forwardly extended leg portions [6 which are secured as by welding to the front frame l2 and rear frame l3 to complete the chair supporting structure. The front frame l2 forms the front legs I! of the chair, while the rear frame l3 forms the rear legs [8 of the chair. The chair back H is secured to the tubular frame l4 as by means of rivets 19. The rear part or frame l3 of the supporting structure is bowed downwardly from the sides toward the middle as best seen in Figures 3 and 4.

The sheet of material which forms the seat and which is shown per se in Figure 2, is of a somewhat springable material, preferably plywood. It is initially plied in the form generally shown in Figure 2, being upwardly bowed from the front to the rear but having no curvature from side to side. Such a plywood sheet is relatively easy to ply-up, considerable difiiculty being encountered when it is attempted to ply-up a sheet having the compound curvature desired as shown in Figure 1.

In accordance with the invention, the plywood sheet as shown in Figure 2 is mounted upon the seat supporting side parts of the supporting structure, which side parts as here shown comprise the upper corners or shoulders of the front frame [2 and rear frame l3 at opposite sides of the sup porting structure. Rivets 20 are employed to secure the upwardly bowed front portion of the plywood sheet to the side parts near the front of the supporting structure, as here shown to the front frame I2. At the completion of this operation the rearward part of the seat lies horizontally across the rear frame l3, the rearward sides of the seat resting on the shoulders all of said rear frame It as illustrated in Figure 3.

In the final assembly operation, fastening means such as the rivets 22 (see Figures 1 and 4) are passed through the rearward part of the seat It and through the downwardly bowed rear part or frame l3 of the supporting structure, the seat In being sprung downwardly during this operation into downwardly bowed conformity with said rear part of the supporting structure, in which condition of compound curvature the seat is maintained by the rivets. It will be understood that, in place of the rivets 22, other fastening means such as bolts and nuts might be employed.

The chair seat thus formed having its front portion bowed upwardly from the front toward the rear and having its rear portion bowed downwardly from the sides to the middle, provides exceptional comfort in a hard seat. While but one specific embodiment of the invention has been herein shown and described, it will be understood that numerous details may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a chair: a supporting structure having seat-supporting side parts and a downwardly bowed rear part, a seat comprising a sheet of springable material mounted on the side parts and secured thereto near the front of the supporting structure, and fastening means securing 3 the rearward part of the seat to the downwardly bowed rear part of the supporting structure so that the rearward part of the seat is sprung into downwardly bowed conformity with said rear part of the supporting structure.

2. In a chair: a supporting structure having seat-supporting side parts and a, downwardly bowed rear part, a seat comprising a, sheet of springable material mounted on the side parts and. secured thereto near the front of the supporting structure, and fastening means passing through the rearward part of the seat and the downwardly bowed rear part of the supporting structure and securing the rearward part of the seat in downwardly bowed sprung condition conforming to said downwardly bowed rear part of the supporting structure.

3. In a chair: a supporting structure having seat-supporting side parts and a downwardly 4 bowed rear part, a seat comprising a sheet of springable material mounted on the side parts and secured thereto near the front of the supporting structure, and rivets passing through the rearward part of the seat and the downwardly bowed rear part of the supporting structure and securing the rearward part of the seat in downwardly bowed sprung condition conforming to said downwardly bowed rear part of the supporting structure.

WALTER E. NORDMARK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date D. 155,273 Eames Sept. 20, 1949 2.182.485 Murdock Dec. 5, 1939 

